Introduction to West Virginia

We are on the east coast! On Thursday evening we arrived at our Airbnb in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. It is a town with period architecture, lots of Biden-Harris signs, and cute eating establishments. We feel at home. Our first stop on our first full day was to the Shepherdstown Pedal and Paddle shop where we rented bikes for a half day. The Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal towpath is about a half-mile from the bike shop, and we got on the trail and rode to Harper's Ferry. The path follows the Potomac River, and runs from Pittsburgh (hi, Ryan!) to Washington, D.C. That would be an interesting trip sometime. The scenery was wooded and not very different from mile to mile. Also, with the trees still in leaf, there were only fleeting views of the river. But it still was a relaxing ride -- good crushed gravel surface and very flat. We rode 13 miles to Harpers Ferry, where the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers join. We're in Civil War history country. John Brown's fort was in Harper's Ferry -- where he led an uprising against slavery, which was one of the precursors to the Civil War. We only had a little time to walk around town because we had to get the bikes back on time, so we retraced the 13 miles back to Shepherdstown. We've included a few scenes from downtown Shepherdstown. A great day!Read more